120-ft wide road to pass through Maval,villagers unimpressed

The map released by the Pune division of the Town Planning Department in the beginning of this year shows a 120-ft-wide road from Baur Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area joining the Pune-Mumbai Expressway at Somatane. The map differentiates this road as ‘sanctioned’ from others that are ‘proposed’ and shows the road through Somatane,Parandwadi,Urse,Aade,Shivne,Ozarde,Sadavali,Pimpalkhute and four other villages. On August 9,Sathe of Shivne village and Tupe of Sadavali,died after police opened fire on people agitating against the proposed water pipeline from Pavana Dam,after they reportedly turned violent. Kantabai Thakar (40) of Yelse was the third villager who died.

Sources with the department said the work on the road project is slated to start sometime next year.

Vasant Bharade,a resident of Shivne,says,“It seems whatever the government does,we are at a loss. What’s worse,the government never cares to compensate for the losses. We are tired of repeating that we lost land to the Pavana Dam in the 70s and the Expressway in the late 90s. We know powerful politicians are behind this. Why do they need a 120-ft-wide road in the area?”

“The government is also planning to take away our water by laying down a pipeline instead of a canal. They want us to leave this place so that they can convert this area into a city. We will be displaced without getting proper compensation,” said Sadavali sarpanch Shankar Deshmukh.

According to Avinash Patil,the deputy director of Town Planning Department,Pune division,“After we published the map,we invited objections and suggestions from people there. The fear of people arises from the notion that we will immediately start land acquisition. It is not so. Those processes will start after the proposal,in which we have incorporated objections,gets the final nod from the government. I visited the area this week. The plan takes into consideration future needs of an expanding city and a growing industrial area.” Patil refused to say as to when the project will start.

Abhay Tilak,a faculty at the Indian School of Political Economy in Pune,says,“It is an open fact that politicians are pushing these projects. We also must take into consideration that connectivity will be a major issue of the future in an area that has maximum number of SEZs and industrial hubs coming up. If the government does not take into consideration what villagers feel and do not actually make them participate in the process,this may lead to Maval-like incidents.”